


What is love?

by Notquiteright



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Beast Island (She-Ra), F/M, Hordak doesn't understand feelings, Love Confessions, Post-Canon, Screams into the void: they love each other your honor, he's trying, mentioned Catradora, slightly cracky
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-16
Updated: 2020-06-16
Packaged: 2021-03-03 20:28:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,742
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24751612
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Notquiteright/pseuds/Notquiteright
Summary: The clones (correctly) assess that Hordak is in love with Entrapta. Hordak does not panic at all.Or: Hordak slowly learns the right name for his feelings for Entrapta
Relationships: Entrapta/Hordak (She-Ra)
Comments: 30
Kudos: 258





	What is love?

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know what this is I swear I have no excuse. I didn't expect to fall so hard for entrapdak either yet here we are.

Truthfully, Hordak doesn’t know how he expected the war to end. 

Years ago he wished it to conclude with Etheria at his feet and Prime proudly at his side. Now Prime is dead, Etheria is standing and the one by his side is Entrapta: an alternative he hasn’t considered to be possible yet it is. Miraculously it is. 

The Princesses sentence him to community service on Beast Island; he would have been resigned to their just cruelty if not for Entrapta’s happy squeal at the prospect, suggesting that it’s less of a punishment he than he initially believed. 

Entrapta is half-heartedly offered to help the other former Horde soldiers in re-building the Fright Zone into a kingdom worthy of Princess Scorpia but she declines, choosing to go with Hordak instead. 

Her company he cherished; but she is not the only one who has decided to come with him. 

“Am I doing this correctly Brother?” a clone who has not yet named himself blinks forcefully at Wrong Hordak who watches intently. 

“Nearly. It’s more like this.” he winks at him with a flourish in demonstration. 

Hordak certainly has… mixed feelings about the clones. There are those that cannot seem to adjust and who sometimes watch him like he’s the New Prime. He knows that once he’d been flattered by the comparison; perhaps that is why he is unnerved ten-fold by the gesture. Entrapta reminds him to be patient with them. And he tries his best. After all isn’t that what this whole thing is about? Starting over. _Learning_. 

“Did I get it right?” Clonera winks at Wrong Hordak. The movement is exaggerated but at least it’s with one eye. 

“Excellent work Clonera!” 

Naming themselves proves an inexplicably hard challenge for most. Clonera’s name choice - as he explained - is an attempt to honor little sister by choosing to add “ra” to his species title like her (Catra suffice to say wasn’t amused by Clonera’s decision but Adora’s laughter kept her from objecting to the name). Clonera’s closest friend is now refusing to be called anything else than Cake taking Perfuma’s advice of naming himself after something he is fond of to heart. Wrong Hordak surprisingly hasn’t found a name for himself yet though not for lack of trying: he rotates through different names each day, hoping one will feel right. If Hordak remembers correctly, he is Brian right now. 

“Beast Island Log 145: The clean-up process is going well. I have discovered a correlation between the decreasing the hostility of the pooka and the diminishing strength of the signal.” Entrapta twirls around with her recorder, lost in her observations. Hordak’s lips quirk faintly at the sight. “More experiments needed to determine whether they’ll be tame once the First Ones’ tech is fully disposed of.” 

“Brother.” Cake speaks up from behind him which Hordak barely even notices, choosing instead to focus on Entrapta enthusiastically relating her scientific discoveries to her future self. “Why does Hordak look at Entrapta like _that_?” 

“Because he’s in love with her.” comes Wrong Hordak’s easy answer and Hordak’s brain screeches to a halt. _Now_ they have his full attention. 

The clones frequently struggle with understanding emotions after being deprived of them for so long. That in itself is not surprising. Wrong Hordak’s assessment however is… alarming. Unsettling? Unpleasant. 

“What?” Hordak spins to face them, voice a bit too squeaky for it to be qualified angry. 

“In love with her?” Cake frowns, continuing the conversation like Hordak wasn’t there. 

“I got it! I got it!” Clonera jumps in excitedly. “Love: affection based on admiration, benevolence, or common interests.” he recites from memory waiting for the others’ approval. Wrong Hordak nods proudly. 

“In essence yes.” 

“It makes sense I suppose. They do admire each other and share common interests.” Cake muses out loud.

“And they look at each other like little sister looked at the She-ra.” Clonera adds with a soft sigh. Then they all turn to Hordak. 

“Entrapta is an excellent partner. I’m sure you’ll be more than sufficiently compatible.” Cake announces with solemn seriousness. Hordak would very much like a moment to gather himself. 

“He’s in love with her.” the Imp echoes, flying circles above his head and Hordak is seriously starting to reconsider being grateful to have found him. 

“Hordak! Look!” Entrapta cries, beckoning him to follow from the entrance of a tunnel that he doesn’t remember being there previously. “I found a tunnel!” 

***

Entrapta hasn’t heard their… discussion thankfully. And to his knowledge neither have any of the clones mentioned it to her. At least she’d surely have made a note of it if they did and she always shares her discoveries with Hordak. 

Which means Hordak can panic about it in his own time. 

Somewhere deep down Hordak has been perfectly aware of his regard for Entrapta. He just didn’t think to question it. It was a fact plain as day: the sun rises, fire burns hot, Entrapta makes him feel lighter and alive and worthy: makes him believe that he can be beautiful in spite of - or maybe even _because of_ \- his imperfections. He knows what life without her is like and he never wants to experience it again. 

He knows of love, has seen glimpses of it: is that what this is? 

Hordak traces the unintelligible First Ones’ script on the crystal, the one that became almost a life-line to him, absently wondering what it says, thinking about the tender way Entrapta looked at him then, holding his hand in hers. 

_You do remember me_

Emily bumps into him, apparently annoyed at being ignored, snapping Hordak from his reverie. 

“My apologies. Let’s get to work.” Emily whirs at him questioningly. “It’s nothing. We should finish gathering the samples.” the robot doesn’t believe him but then again he wasn’t very convincing. 

Entrapta beams when they deliver the shriveled plants to her. She immediately starts inspecting it, one strand of her hair trailing down Hordak’s arm in a caress, almost without her noticing. Hordak watches it happen, watches _her_. Entirely absorbed in her work, hair branching out in a thousand directions to bring the necessary equipment closer with the faint light of the cave illuminating the sparkle in her eyes, Entrapta is simply breathtaking. 

Warmth blooms in his chest as she turns to him with a grin, the kind that he knows is born from a perplexing mystery she cannot wait to solve. 

Hordak stays with her and listens, offering his opinion when needed and wonders if he is brave enough to call this emotion love. 

***

“The plants appear to be in a symbiotic relationship with the tech on the island. They seem to feed off the despair the signal instills in its victims. Fascinating!” Entrapta records, her excitement not diminished in the least by her visible exhaustion. “With the signal reduced to 30% of its original strength the plants started to wither away on their own.” 

“Entrapta.” Hordak interrupts her gently. She stops, staring at him curiously. “You’re exhausted. Perhaps you should consider sleeping.” 

It’s a conversation they have had many times when they were working on the portal: and it went both ways. Neither of them are very good at recognizing their limits. Hordak remembers quite vividly Entrapta forcefully sending him to sleep that time he admitted that he had not slept for three days in a row while he caught Emily trying to carefully drag a sleeping Entrapta to a more comfortable position far too many times. 

By now they usually give in with little fuss. 

“I suppose…” she says reluctantly. Hordak nearly quirks a smile. 

“Sleep deprivation merely increases the risk of committing errors in your work.” he echoes the argument she used against him then. 

“You remember.” Entrapta says, voice filled with soft wonder. Hordak wants to tell her that of course he remembers. That he could never quite forget her: even when his memories were taken he still… missed her. Sometimes he half-expected someone to come tumbling out of the vents as he was patrolling the corridors of Prime’s ship. He could never explain why he felt such pain when no one ever did. 

But he doesn’t know how to say that, the words never quite manage to come out like he wants to. So he merely leads the way to their sleeping rolls. 

Entrapta settles down comfortably, dozing off within moments. Hordak himself never found sleep easily; he has always been far too restless. Yet now he feels a strange sense of peace, listening to the way Entrapta’s breath starts to slowly even out. Something in him itches to touch her hair but he resists it, content with watching her instead. 

“I love you.” he says quietly, trying out the words to see if they fit. They taste sweet on his tongue: he has never said anything like them. He wasn’t made for honeyed words nor tender emotions yet here he is, trying. An experiment, as Entrapta would say. 

“I love you too.” Entrapta replies drowsily. 

“I… thought you were sleeping.” Hordak says, taken aback. Entrapta yawns and rubs at her eyes with her hair. 

“You were looking at me.” she explains easily. “Some people can be woken up by that. Interesting isn’t it? Come to think of it I never researched why…”

“Entrapta.” Hordak says, her words finally having caught up to him. “You said you…loved me?” Entrapta blinks, looking away unusually shyly. 

“I actually… have said so before.” she admits. “Well not said exactly. Technically speaking I carved it. In First Ones’ writing.” 

“The crystal.” he says almost breathlessly as it dawns on him. _The crystal_. All this time…?

“It says ‘loved’” Entrapta confirms with a small smile. 

“I love you.” Hordak repeats, firmly, knowing it’s true, knowing it’s right. Right like the way Entrapta’s face lights up, right like the way she intertwines their hands carefully. Right like the way neither of them let go as he falls asleep beside the woman he loves and who loves him back. 

(When he wakes up he’s cocooned in purple hair and surrounded by gawking clones. Most of them disperse at his glare. Clonera coos. Cake wipes his eyes dramatically. Wrong Hordak simply winks. 

“I love you.” Imp echoes him cheekily and Hordak knows he would feel more indignation at their teasing if Entrapta didn’t choose that exact moment to snuggle closer to him in her sleep. 

After all, it’s not like they are wrong. He does love her.) 

**Author's Note:**

> Longer semi-unnecessary A/N but:
> 
> 1) Hordak may think he was just "faintly smiling" at Entrapta but you better believe it was more of a lovesick gazing. No wonder the clones noticed  
> 2) I'm all for Wrong Hordak changing his name but without having a single idea what to: hence him not knowing either (I don't know if the fandom at large has settled on a name yet?)  
> 3) I honestly don't know if Prime's ship had vents but in this au there definitely were some for Angst Reasons  
> 4) MOST IMPORTANTLY: the pooka do eventually turn tame. They gift one to Bow when they return. He freaks out.


End file.
